Dead Rising 2 (DR2), the sequel to 2006’s action survival horror hit Dead Rising, will be arriving for consoles on 24 September 2010, with the previously neglected PC platform receiving the game a week later on 1 October. The original developers – Capcom in partnership with their recent acquisition Blue Castle Games – are once again at the helm of what will undoubtedly be another outrageously awesome zombie smiting adventure.
Series fans are pleased to know that Keiji Inafune, the mastermind co-designer behind the original title (and head of research and development at Capcom), was also on board to design Dead Rising 2 – a game which promises to be bigger and better than its predecessor in every way.
So what exactly can we expect from the sequel? Let’s start with the plot (without giving too much away): DR2 is set five years after the disastrous zombie parasite infestation that arose in Santa Cabeza – an infestation that was the result of government experiments gone awry. The infestation has apparently spread across the United States.
The Dead Rising 2 protagonist is motocross champion Chuck Greene, whom has found himself stuck in Fortune City, a casino/resort complex stylised after Las Vegas, Nevada. Chuck competes in a reality TV show called ‘Terror is Reality’ – a show in which competitors revel in the merciless slaughter of zombies.
Chuck does this so he can earn cash to buy Zombrex medication for his infected young daughter, Katey. DR2 opens with Chuck competing in the show, but of course, things soon go awry, and hordes of the undead break out into the wider Fortune City area causing a wide-scale outbreak of the zombie parasite infestation.
Chuck still needs cash to buy Zombrex, so he dives into the thick of things, rescuing survivors for reward, and scavenging whatever monies he can find. To make matters worse, the media is blaming Chuck for the outbreak, and the military is mobilising to capture him within 72 hours, thus setting the time limit for completing the story portion of the game.
As with the previous title, gamers will be hard pressed to complete the story on their first attempt. Dead Rising 2 features a levelling system, and players will likely spend a couple of plays merely having fun, gaining experience and exploring the game world.
Although Dead Rising 1’s Willamete Mall was a pretty large zombie playground that entertained gamers for many, many hours, the world of Dead Rising 2 is massive in comparison. There’s no official word on map size comparison, but previewers have pegged Fortune City at around six times the size of Willamete Mall.
Players will likely ignore the majority of the story mode at first; by design and through necessity. Exploring the world and learning the best weapon and vehicle locations will be paramount to completing the time sensitive story mode.
The photography gameplay element from Dead Rising 1 has been ditched, but the variety and scope of makeshift weapons has been expanded upon. The real meat n’ potatoes of DR2 gameplay will be the weapon combinations – weapons which can also be strapped to various vehicles. There are at least 45 weapon combos known so far, including a football strapped with grenades, a kayak paddle with chainsaws on the ends, and even a stuffed bear sentry gun.
Players will be able collect weapon combo cards throughout the game to help them figure out combos. Some guns have been sprinkled in for good measure, with an over-the-shoulder view and the addition of strafing movement control.
DR1 boasted 800 on-screen zombies, but this time around the developers are claiming that up to 7 000 zombies could be crammed into your screen – so, no shortage of fodder for your weapon combo experiments.
Capcom couldn’t get away without a multiplayer component to the game. DR2 features a drop-in cooperative mode for the campaign – a host player will act as the character on which progress is saved, but any other player can join at any time and keep their experience and items earned. A mini-map icon will direct players who become separated, and it will be possible to revive a fallen comrade.
The other multiplayer mode allows up to four players to compete in the ‘Terror is Reality’ game show. The show comprises of ten different zombie smashing events, such as racing motocross bikes with chainsaws on the handlebars, competing to mow down as many zombies as possible.
The multiplayer modes will be online only affairs. Any cash and experience earned during multiplayer gameplay carries over into the player’s single player Chuck Greene profile.
Dead Rising 2 has built on the awesomeness of the original, and is shaping up to be a great sequel. More zombies, more weapons, cool multiplayer modes, a massive environment, and a levelling system which will add longevity to the single player campaign – get out your duct tape, it’s time to annihilate the zombie hordes!
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